Internal combustion engines need a supply of air for combustion operation. The air may be filtered to reduce the number of particulates in the intake air. However, air filters may become clogged or otherwise obstructed due to environmental conditions outside of the engine or vehicle. This may be particularly problematic during extreme weather conditions (e.g., snow storms, dust storms, etc.) For example, falling snow may enter an engine air filter, obstructing the intake airflow. As a result, the airflow through the intake system may be substantially reduced, thereby negatively affecting combustion performance and engine efficiency.
Secondary or auxiliary air filters adjacent to a primary air filter have been developed in an attempt to provide a desired amount of filtered air to the engine during extreme weather conditions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,211,197 discloses a filter assembly having a primary air filter and an auxiliary air filter positioned in a single filter mount.
The inventors have recognized several drawbacks with the filter assembly disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,211,197. The size and profile of the air filter assembly is increased when both the primary and secondary air filter are integrated into the same mounting structure. Consequently, it may be difficult to position a large air filter assembly in desired positions in the vehicle, such as the engine compartment, due to packaging constraints. Moreover, when the primary and secondary filters are positioned in a common location in the vehicle, both of the filters may become clogged with the same type of particulates due to their proximal locations despite attempts to segregate their flows.
The inventors herein have recognized the above issues and developed an intake system for an engine including a first air filter assembly in fluidic communication with an intake manifold and a second air filter assembly spaced away from the first air filter assembly and in fluidic communication with the intake manifold.
In this way, the first air filter assembly may be positioned at a remote location from the second air filter assembly, enabling the air filters to be positioned in desired locations in the vehicle that will decrease the overall profile of the intake system as well as provide protection from particulate matter and other external elements such as road debris. Moreover, the spacing the filter assemblies apart decreases the likelihood of both of the filters becoming clogged by similar particulate matter (e.g., snow, dust, etc.) from the surrounding environment.
The above advantages and other advantages, and features of the present description will be readily apparent from the following Detailed Description when taken alone or in connection with the accompanying drawings.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure. Additionally, the above issues have been recognized by the inventors herein, and are not admitted to be known.